Sedona is known for its incredible outdoor scenery, which translates into killer views for its low-rise hotels positioned just outside the red-rock canyons and beside its river, Oak Creek.

Six months ago, Kimpton put its hand in the cookie jar and got its first property there, taking over and transforming an existing property into the the Amara Resort and Spa.

The 100-room creek side hotel is located near Uptown Sedona and positions its rooms to face Bear Wallow Canyon and its infamous Mitten Ridge. But the best views might come from the courtyard that splits the property in half and extends outward from the lobby and its adjoining restaurant and patio, continuing on and fanning out as it approaches the creek.

A grassy sitting area occupies the middle ground while the pool and hot tub give you a front row seat to take in the creekside trees (which were still a few weeks away from blooming during our visit) and mountain views. It is especially nice during Kimpton's free wine hour.

Sources tell us the management change happened while the hotel was in escrow with new owners. Apparently, JDV Hotels was supposed to manage the property but Kimpton swayed the new owners. Right now, the hotel's JDV website is dead. But the new Kimpton website is up and running.

The property first opened in 2009, but now with a new owner and a new managing company, we wonder if a renovation will be coming soon too. Rates start at $254 a night this weekend with breakfast included. Also included is free WiFi for Kimpton Karma Rewards members and a hosted evening wine hour. Oh and a selfie stick too.

The sticks will be available to check out at the front desk, much like when you check out their free bikes. Kimpton promises their front desk staff is "well versed in selfie stick strategy and is happy to help you with a little Selfie Stick 101." (But we presume that if you take the selfie stick home or lose it you will probably be charged.)

And where there is a selfie stick there is a chance to win something, thanks to Kimpton. The hotel chain is offering guests who borrow the selfie stick during their stay a chance to win a $150 Kimpton gift card plus their own personal selfie stick. All they have to do is take a pic with the selfie stick, upload it to Twitter with the hashtag #AdoreThySelfie and wait for their name to be announced.

The contest will be happening on a monthly basis, culminating in a year-end raffle where the 12 winners are entered to win a grand prize two-night stay at the Kimpton of their choice. So get snapping. #selfiesforever #andever

Pittsburgh is definitely a town on the up. Want proof? Look no further than the Hotel Monaco, which opened last week.

248 rooms including 13 suites are what’s available, and the Pittsburgh theme (yes, there’s a Pittsburgh theme) is strong, if subtle- think a lamp in the shape of a penguin (hockey), meeting rooms named after notable locals (including Scott Fahlman, who invented the :) smiley face emoticon (for real)), and the Rebellion Suite, named by locals for locals, which harks back to the "great whiskey rebellion of western Pennsylvania".

Rooms are your typical Kimpton riot of weirdness, including jade-colored headboards, black paisley carpets, yellow cushions, houndstooth curtains, feature wallpaper and gilded cages for the pearl-effect chandeliers. That’s all good; what’s less so are the “glass showers” that the hotel describes (there are no photos, but we assume that means peekaboo. Peekaboo is not sexy. It's gross).

Let's just take a quick break right now from the stress and anxiety we're all under on this Wednesday morning and focus on this snapshot of the Today Show's puppy, Wrangler, chilling in a Kimpton Hotels animal-print bathrobe during the "blizzard" the other day. The cuteness, it kills.

There's also another pic of Wrangler "reading" the room service menu. Glad to see someone else feels the same way we do about this supposedly waning hotel tradition.

Are you betting on the Super Bowl? The Kimpton Hotelsin Boston certainly are, offering up a challenge to their Kimpton counterparts in Seattle.

If the Patriots win, Boston proposes that the Seattle Kimpton hotels do the following on the day of the Championship Parade in Boston:

• Serve New England Clam Chowder in their restaurants

• Serve a New England brewed beer and a Boston tea-infused cocktail in their bars

• Replace Seattle’s best coffee with the coffee that New Englanders all run on

• Wear Patriots gear at the Front Desk while checking in their guests

• Rename the hotel’s pet gold fish, "Gronkfish" for the day

• Play music by Boston bands in their hotel lobby all day

No word yet on whether Seattle has accepted or what Boston will do if, gasp, the Patriots lose. So, in that sense, it's not really a bet. We hope Seattle returns the favor with some terms of their own should the Seahawks win a consecutive championship.

Now, to fully grasp the seriousness of this bet, watch this video of Joe Capalbo, Kimpton's Area Director of Operations for Boston, laying down the terms for Seattle, while aboard the Boston Tea Party ship.

How d’ya fancy sleeping with David Bowie? No? Would Dave Grohl be more your type? Really? Leonardo DiCaprio? Please, no. Ok, then, go ahead and have the big one – have Tom Selleck.

This will be your choice at the Palladian, Kimpton’s latest hotel, opening in Seattle next month. The hotel has commissioned a whole series of male celebs dolled up in old-style portrait fashion – and, if you’re particular about who you end up in bed with, there’s a package for you. And you know what's even better? This is no sordid one-nighter; you get to take them home once you've had your fun.

Yesterday when we learned that InterContinental Hotel Group will acquire the 62 hotels that make up Kimpton Hotels, our first thought was, "Nooo!", followed by "Whyyyy?" and then finished up with, "Wait, what happens to the Kimpton Karma loyalty program which was just unveiled this summer?"

As it turns out, the program is not going anywhere. At least not right away. Kimpton Karma will continue to work as it always has with no crossover into IHG's Rewards Club. But you know that won't last. We expect members to be able to use and earn points at both brands sometime in 2015.

With that out of the way, let's look at all the other concerns Kimpton loyalists have about their cute boutique brand being acquired by a big corporation.

This is major. MAJOR. InterContinental Hotel Group has just announced that they will be acquiring one of our most beloved boutique hotel brands, Kimpton Hotels. Right? We know. We can't even. Someone please start spiking the eggnog. Now.

An agreement was made for IHG to purchase Kimpton for $430 million CASH. IHG said that Kimpton and its portfolio of hotels, restaurants and bars will nicely compliment IHG's own growing boutique business which includes Hotel Indigo and the new fitness-oriented EVEN Hotels. And of course, IHG thinks Kimpton is going to make a lot of money.

Formerly, the Omphoy Resort and before that, the Palm Beach Hilton, The Tideline is still working on its new look (namely expanding the Tideline Spa) but already, the 134-room oceanfront resort has adopted all of the Kimpton brand standards like free WiFi for Karma members, the "Forgot it? We've got it!" toiletry menu, complimentary coffee and tea in the living room, a hosted wine hour in the evenings, and an in-room yoga kit.

So far, we don't see much that's new in the guest rooms as they look very much like they did when the hotel was the Omphoy. But the hotel's existing restaurant, Brandon's by The Beach from Chef Todd Wiss (which has been in business for a while) has consistently good reviews.

Even though the hotel isn't exactly brand new, they are offering a grand opening rate, starting at $319 a night with a $50 credit, complimentary breakfast, an upgrade (if available) and a welcome glass of Prosecco. The rate is valid through April 30 but there are some blackout dates.

We've long been a fan of Kimpton Hotels'Forgot it? We've got it!" amenity program, which sends up, on request, any toiletries that guests may have forgotten to pack from contact lens solution to straightening irons. But now at The EPIC Hotel in Miami, the amenity program extends to Halloween costumes.

That's right, if you've forgotten to pack your sexy ladybug costume, or just decided on a whim to go trick or treating, the EPIC Hotel can lend you a costume to wear for the night.

And if you stay at the hotel on Halloween, you can indulge in special pumpkin oil aroma therapies and massages from the hotel's Exhale Spa during the hotel's complimentary wine hour. A Halloween candy buffet will also be on display. Over at the hotel's bars and lounges--LILT, Area31 and a the rooftop pool deck, speciality Halloween cocktails will be served too.